#Rebecca Sugar behind this

[dontouchperi]

Who tf r some of u ppl I can’t keep up anymore

[silver-tongues-blog]

i swear, the new generation of queers would lose their mind if they saw rocky horror and not in a good way. learn your goddamn queer media history you fucks.

[constantvariations]

in a world where the last of us show is able to get away with bill and frank's relationship being as explicit as it was (and will likely do so again with ellie and riley when they get to the left behind content), rwby has no excuse for dragging its feet on bumblebee beyond that miles and kerry just don't give a solitary fuck.

I haven't seen the show yet (too deep in Devil May Cry lol) so I can't say anything concrete, but I did watch playthroughs of it back in the day. In 2013, the most the developers could do for gay rep was a joke via the male model magazine

You know what the bees remind me of? Korrasami. That hand hold in the finale was gay enough to get the 4th season banned to the shadowrealm (streaming only). In 2014. Before gay marriage was legalized. That was revolutionary

Say what you will about Bryke - I sure have and will - but they did care enough about this to fight their bosses. Because of them taking that first step, we have more explicit queer rep like Steven Universe, She Ra, and Owl House

Crwby does not have the excuse of it being 2014. The v6 bees hand hold came in 2018, 3 years after gay marriage was federally approved. They do not have bosses they have to fight tooth and nail against for a kiss or wedding. Some of their members consist of the highest positions of power within the company!

V6 and onward primed the stage for a bees confession or kiss, but neither Blake nor Yang have even admitted they like girls. If crwby wanted bees to be canon, they would make bees canon, but they don't so they haven't

[thebuttsmcgee]

It kinda feels like when the Owl Crew were all saying their goodbyes to working on the show again.

Nearly everyone in the tags is getting ready for The End.

Like. Damn. It really is the end as far as we know for the entire franchise of The Owl House.

Man.

[animatingforfun]

This was a pure joy to work on.

For the behind-the-scenes story of how I made this animated mini-short, click “keep reading” below.

I started this 6 weeks ago, just before Nintendo shut down its 3DS and WiiU servers. The server shutdown meant no more multi-player online play for 3DS games, like Mario Kart 7, but also no more uploading to the Butterfly Animation online gallery directly from the app.

As an homage to the Inchworm and Butterfly Animation apps for the DSi and 3DS that I’ve been animating on since 2011, I originally was just going to animate just a single shot featuring something butterfly related.

But the story evolved as I began asking myself a series of "what if" questions that I had fun answering, like, “what if it was a little girl playing dress up as a butterfly?” And then “what if she was first cosplaying as a caterpillar then the butterfly?” “If this is a story of growth, what if she stumbles? What is her attitude when she stumbles?” “What if the design of the girl was something like Isao Takahata or Yoichi Kotabe would draw?”

Making this was the embodiment of everything I hope to achieve with my personal animation: to let creativity flow and just have fun animating and creating.

Since this mini-short was animated on my Nintendo 3DS, there was a memory limit of only 100 drawings, which was a bit of a challenge for longer or complex actions, but was a fun puzzle to solve. Sometimes limitations force you to come up with even more creative solutions. (I was able the squeeze in more drawings than the memory allowed, and filled it to the max!) :)

The song I used is from Rebecca Sugar’s album, "Spiral Bound", and perfectly fit the theme of the short. Initially, while I was drawing the character, I found myself humming a tune from Steven Universe that dealt with beginnings, endings, and not being ready. It’s amazing how the brain can subconsciously pick the playlist!

In the end, that song, sung by Steven’s father in the show, didn’t quite fit, but then I remembered another song by Rebecca Sugar which was more on theme with my story, called “My Own Way to the End”. The whole album is wonderful! You can check it out here:

Painting the backgrounds for this was the most challenging thing for me, but also the most eye opening! After painting, I would look around at the trees in the neighborhood differently. So many colors when you really look closely.

There’s so many talented people at my work and it was great that I could ask them for advice. One person I asked was the talented Tia Kratter, who happened to teach a mini-painting class for the animators while I was working on this short. I asked her for advice on one of the background paintings and she asked great questions which challenged me to try different things, but I still felt like I was having fun and playing without fear of failure. I mean, it was still hard though! Hahaha!

If you’ve read up to this point, thank you for reading this. :) I hope you enjoy this mini-short as much as I enjoyed making it!

[sarasade]

One of the most generally useful things to come out of Hbomberguy's plagiarism video and Todd in the Shadows' similar video on misinformation is how they bring transparency to the internet phenomenon of "I made up a guy to get mad at".

Seriously, I've seen people make up a lot of stupid shit on the internet over the years and it's often just a manipulative attempt to paint a group of marginalized people in a bad light.

That's the TL;DR version of this post. 

ANYWAY here is the long version

Those videos are mostly about James Somerton's plagiarism of other queer people's work. However I'd like to talk about that 20-30% of Somerton's original writing- and oh boy. It's mostly about complaining about White Straight Women and misgendering well-known trans creators such as Rebecca Sugar and calling Becky Albertalli a straight woman while it's pretty common knowledge that she was forced to out herself as bi because she received so much harassment over "being a cishet woman who appropriates LGBT+ stories".

One thing that irks me especially is how in his Killing Stalking and Gay Shipping videos Somerton brings up how straight women/ teen girl shippers exploit gay men for their personal sexual fantasies. This gets brought up several times in his videos.

Being all up and arms about Somerton being a "White Cis Gay Who Hates Women and Queer People tm" is not that useful because the kind of rhetoric he's using is extremely common in fandom and LGBT+ spaces on Tumblr, TikTok and Twitter. We really don't need to bring Somerton's identity to this since he is in no way an unique example.

It's hypocritical to make this about an individual person when I've seen A TON of posts, tweets and videos where queer people talk about these Sinister Straight Women who are supposedly out there fetishizing and exploiting queer men. It's pretty clear to me that this is just an excuse to shit on women and queer people for having any sexual interests. At worst these comments are spreading misinformation about BL, a form of media that has been excessively studied by both Asian feminists and Asian queer women.

This all sounds really familiar and I think it's good that people are calling it out as what it is: misogyny and transphobia. I'd also point out the potentially racist motives behind being this hypervigilant about Asian media.

People can absolutely be misogynist regardless of gender or orientation. I really don't know why we need to create some kind of made up enemy to get mad at. I actually think it's almost sinister how "anti-fujoshi" people call Slash shippers and fujoshi misogynists or claim that they have internalised misogyny while being dismissive about women's interests and creative pursuits under Japanese obscenity laws, China's censorship, book bans in American schools and various other disadvances that are part of being a queer and/or female creator.

I think we shouldn't be naive about the bad faith actors who want to turn queer people against each other. For example Fujoshi.info mentions anti-gender (TERF, GC etc) movement using this kind of rhetoric as well.

Anyway if you want to read more:

- about the false info around BL fandom fujoshi.info

-There is the scholar Thomas Baudinette who studies gay media in Japan. Here is a podcast with him and the scholar Khursten Santos

-James Welker is a BL scholar as well. Here is a podcast interview about the new international BL article collection he edited.

-I've already talked about this Youtube channel by KrisPNatz and his great Killing Stalking video that actually engages with the themes of the manhwa

- There is also HR Coleman's thesis DO NOT FEED THE FETISHIZERS: BOYS LOVE FANS RESISTANCE AND CHALLENGE OF PERCEIVED REPUTATION where she interviews 36 BL fans and actually breaks down why fetishization has become such a huge talking point in the fandom discourse. Spoilers, it's mostly about young queer people and women being worried that they will get judged and pathologized for their interest in anything sexual.

-Great podcast about Danmei and censorship with Liang Ge

[inbarfink]

After all these years, ‘I Remember You’ is still one of the great highlights of Adventure Time Storytelling. And not just in the basic ‘what???? Silly children’s cartoon does something SAD??? HOLY SHIT MIND BLOWN’ way. But with the execution of that Something Sad. How it manages to pack so many Complex Emotions into just 11-minutes of television. And especially the way it utilizes the basic Adventure Time format for that purpose.

So Adventure Time is a Board-based show. Each episode has an outline pitched and written down by the writer’s room, and then this outline goes to a team of (usually) two Storyboard Artists who develop that simple outline into a full story. And with the show’s art-style deliberately eschewing staying perfectly ‘on-model’ in favor of having the animators take direct reference from how the different storyboarders draw the characters

And the show being generally extremely versatile in terms of themes and tone - AT has allowed a lot of their Storyboarders to really express themselves and their unique artistic vision as part of the Big Collaborative Narrative that is Adventure Time. 

Now, the Boarders who worked on ‘I Remember You’ are Cole Sanchez and Rebecca Sugar. These two were a Storyboarding Duo from the start of S4 and until Sugar left the AT Crew during S5, and they always struck me as a curious combination. I think really from all of the individual boarders working on AT during that time, these two really are the closest to having like… Totally Opposite Artistic Sensibilities as boarders. 

With Sugar favoring a style that is very loose and sketchy and also very rounded. Focusing on expressions and subtle body language and lighting. And being famous for going deep in depth into Big Moments of Emotional Catharsis

And Sanchez having a very clear art style that emphasizes strong silhouettes and clear lines that suggest flatness. Focusing more on major poses and the character’s positions in the space. And having just a really great eye for AT’s brand of silly humor.

Like, I almost kinda suspect these two were paired together so they can each cover for the other’s “weakspots” in writing ‘Adventure Time’. 

And there were a few episodes that did some really interesting stuff with this very contrasting pair - ‘Jake the Dog’ is another example. Giving most of the Farmworld scenes to Sugar and most of the Time Room scenes to Sanchez both plays to their personal strengths as storyboarders and helps to emphasize the strong emotional contrast between these two scenarios. 

And ‘I Remember You’ is actually kinda unique among Adventure Time episodes cause… Most episodes will have the two boarders alternate between working on the episode throughout it. Like you’d have Boarder A draw a bit and then Boarder B and then Boarder A again… But “I Remember You” is divided between Sanchez and Sugar… basically perfectly in the middle.

So the entirety of the first half of the episode was boarded by Sanchez

Until Ice King pushes Marceline and then leaves the room in shame.

And then, Sugar takes over.

And, like, even if you don’t know anything about the Behind the Scenes of Adventure Time or who Cole Sanchez and Rebecca Sugar even are - the Shift is noticeable. The shift in tone, in narrative focus, in the subtleties in which the characters are drawn. 

The entire first half of the episode has this thin veneer of just being a Silly Goofy Ice King Episode. Sanchez’s talent for Adventure Time’s brand of comedy is on full display… but there is also this underlying feeling that Something is Happening just under the surface. And these hints of the Big Emotions of ‘IRY’ expressed via Sanchez’s kinda goofy style really create this balance between putting the audience into a false sense of security that this is just a Very Normal Episode about two characters hanging out and the Tension constantly brewing in the subtext. 

And then it all comes to a blow.

And then the Shift happens. And now we are in Sugar’s court.

And this subtle shift in the artstyle and storytelling also coincide with Marceline finally openly expressing her feelings and the Reveal of Simon and Marcy's shared past. The episode changes focus from Ice King's silly antics to Marceline's feelings. Everything changes, everything in the first part of the episode gets recontextualized and... even on the most basic level, the episode is now Noticeably Different.

I would almost say that Sanchez’s half of the episode has Ice King define the tone, while Sugar’s half of the episode has Marceline define the tone. But more than anything it’s the catharsis. The reveal and release of those emotions that were building up so expertly through the Sanchez half of the episode. All of the Sugar-boarded scenes in this episode are really heartbreaking on their own, just through the tragedy of the story and Sugar’s expert knowledge of howto convey emotion in the visual medium - but it’s so enchanted by what came before it.

“I Remember You” is truly a great testament to how ‘Adventure Time’ could use every aspect of its medium to tell a great story in such a short time.

[hobvitr]

pavitr prabhakar x reader

fem!reader

genre/warnings: fluff, friends to lovers, reader is insecure, comfort, unrevised writing.

note: i swear i try to write for the other characters but this little guy don't leave my head !!! i was wanting to write something like this for a while, i'm a Romantic at heart unfortunately.. recommended song: love like you - rebecca sugar

sinopses: your best friend invites you to be his partner at the school ball! he has no clue you like him more than as a friend.

the wind swung nicely around your clothes, the summer night doing favors to every person going to the ball. you were quite anxious about the event, as your best friend pavitr invited you to be his partner. you didn't know if he knew about your feelings towards him, but it seemed not, gratefully.

after all the three years together at high school, doing everything side by side, the feelings started to develop with much ease. sure pavitr playfully bothered you as a friend, who doesn't? but he was overly sweet about everything, always. you lost count of the times his hug was your comfort through tough times, his laugh the highlight of your day, and the lunch dates the best days of the week.

---

"do you want to come to my house and have a cup of chai?" he suggested, both of you making your ways to your respective homes. you didn't live far of each other, which make your visits rather frequent. "maya auntie said she miss you" you heard a little chuckle coming from him.

"yeah! anything for maya auntie!" you said excitedly with a grin on your lips. pavi rolled his eyes "you like her more than you like me, hm?" it was more like an affirmation than a question. "a lot more" you retorted holding a laugh.

making your way to his house, you excuse yourself before entering and sprint to go find maya auntie to say hi. "namaste, maya auntie!" you say with a big smile at her joyful look at you. "y/n! i see pavi finally remembered to told you to come see me" she hugs you affectionately.

"hey! I didn't invited you to come to chat with her instead of me" pavi come behind you both, faking a pout. "if you want to keep her to yourself, ask her out first!" maya aunt retorted playfully, but not letting the opportunity to annoy her nephew escape.

"what?!" his tone was desperate, both of you now with deep shades of red on your cheeks. "what? i'm just kidding, bhateeja" she laughs putting both of her hands on pavitr's shoulders. "you go make a chai for us, i'll get something for us to eat" she leave before pavi could protest.

"don't mind her, i don't know why she said that" he clumsily made his way to prepare the drink. "it's okay, i know how it is" your chuckle came out humorless. you took a sit at the table, staring at pavi's back.

your mind was racing at the thought of the feeling be reciprocate, but obviously your head became clouded with doubt and insecurities. is you good enough for him? is you the right person to make him happy? is you the person he'd choose to spend his days by side? oh, you don't think so.

---

"priy, what's going through your mind?" pavitr's voice caught your attention with the nickname he refused to tell you the meaning, taking you back to the present. "nothing, i think i just slept right here" you answer getting a laugh from him.

"sure... let's get inside, gwen already texted me asking where we at" he take your hand, pulling you inside with him.

just now you realized how good he looked in a suit and how damned you were from having to spend the night away with him without calling him boyfriend. the music echoed throughout the place, thankfully not a slow one. you two walk around the place holding hands and looking for your friends.

"gwen!!" you shouted, stunned by her beauty and pretty outfit. "you look so good" you say while hugging her. "look at you!" she replied, backing up to take a good look. "pavitr is so lucky to have you as partner"

gwen knew about your feelings towards him, because you told her and also, she is your best friend, she could sense at the beginning.

"yes i am" he said overhearing your convo, while greeting miles and hobie. you shared a desperate eye contact with gwen, letting only her know your reaction at his reply. you greeted miles and hobie affectionately too, setting a comfortable chat with all five of you.

after a little while, gwen and miles left to get drinks and you, pavitr and hobie stayed chatting about anything. "changing the subject completely, i still can't believe I'm the only one without a partner" he looked down at you both with a knowing look.

before you could deny anything pavi starts talking "it's okay to not have one, dude" he patted hobie's shoulder, trying to comfort him. you almost giggled at the interaction. the slow songs started to play, making you start to get nervous. love like you was the exact song playing and the next thing you heard was "i love that song" pavi say excited, directing his eyesight at you, and extending a hand. "care for a dance?"

you thanked mentally for the blue lights above at the ceiling, because you're sure you're blushing like hell. "only 'cause you asked so nicely" you say with a smile growing on your lips, getting one from him as well.

he took your hand, going to a more private spot (away from your friends). he didn't let go of your hand for a second, only letting go to be able to hold you properly for a dance. both his hands placed in your waist, while you shyly bring your hands to his shoulders.

"pavi" you called him briefly, trying your best to maintain eye contact. he hummed, with the most genuine smile on his lips. you wanted so much to confess to him right now, but you just couldn't let the words out. you were afraid it would ruin the rest of the night for all of you. "you look good" is the only thing you manage to say.

"thanks, priy" he replied, making you chuckle. "are you cursing me for saying you look good?" you ask playfully, after a while you were certain the nickname was something funny.

"who said it's a curse?" he grinned at you, making you lean your head slightly to the side, confused. "what else could it be?" you retorted with a chuckle, he doing the same. he didn't said anything for a solid 15 seconds, only staring at you swaying within the song.

"darling." he says, and you don't react, not sure if you heard or understood right. "priy means darling" he explained, lefting you with no doubts.

you kept staring at him, and he staring at you. the natural smile he always had getting more prominent. "i like you, so much i couldn't even stand one minute more without telling you" he confessed, being greeted with you smiling brightly at him.

everything in this moment was beautiful. him, the dance, the song, you. you giggled, trying to hide your flustered face from him.

"pavi, if you're messing with me I'll kill you, i swear." you laughed, closing the space between you to hug him tightly. your arms around his neck, his arms around you waist holding you just as thigh. "I'm not! i promise" he chuckle, nuzzling his face at the crook of your neck.

"i like you too, for so long..." you finally confess, backing up to take a look at his pretty face. "and a lot more than you like me" you say playfully, a hand going to caress his cheek with a thumb. "that was the dumbest thing I've heard you say!" pavitr retorted while laughing. "no chance, i don't like you, i love you" you could feel the joy in his tone, making you giggle and blush at the words. "whatever, 'cause i love you more"

he smiled before kissing you softly, ending instantly the discussion. you kissed him back with the most joy you've ever felt, finally being able to share this moment with your lover.

"you're still not winning the discussion" you say after the kiss "only if now You kiss Me" pavi enfatize in the phrase, making you hug him again and spend the rest of the night as lovers.

---

"c'mon miles, give me the money" gwen extented her hand at him, hearing a groan. "i should've known better, damn" five bucks was now on gwen's hand.

"aren't you forgetting something?" hobie ask to miles as well "fine, take it" another five bucks at hobie's hand.

"they owe me 10 bucks"

[yelena-bellova]

Heartfirst: A Ted Lasso Story - Chapter Four

Chapter Four: Learning Curve

Plot: With the prospect of both a biography and a new team member, Y/n learns more about the modus operandi of AFC Richmond.

Word Count: 6.3k

Warnings: f!reader, language, minor innuendo, (16+)

A/N: This is really the last chapter before things start to get going, so hang tight through the filler, because we’re about to take off lol

—————

Though she spent very little time there, the KJPR office was somewhat of a safe haven for Y/n.

Working at Nelson Road Stadium had proven to bring a level of chaos Y/n wasn’t used to. When she’d make the drive across town for her weekly meetings with Keeley, she was assured the only focus would be work.

So when Y/n entered Keeley’s office and found her boss on the couch, holding two cups of coffee, she was a bit thrown.

“Hi!” Keeley greeted.

“Morning,” Y/n replied, shutting the door behind her, “What’s this?”

“I thought we could have breakfast,” Keeley smiled, holding up the cups, “I want to hear all about your first week.”

Y/n tried to hide her true feelings on the matter, knowing Keeley had all the right intentions. It wasn’t many bosses who cared so much about their employees.

“Okay,” Y/n conceded, setting her things on the far end of the couch and joining Keeley in the middle.

“I didn’t know how you liked it, so I just got cream and sugar,” Keeley explained as she handed Y/n the takeaway cup, “I hope you’re good with dairy.”

“I’m fine,” Y/n chuckled, taking a sip of the drink, “It’s lovely.”

Keeley grinned victoriously. “So,” she kicked off her ridiculously high heels and tucked her feet under her, “How’s it going? Are you loving it?”

Love was a strong word in the case of Y/n’s feelings towards AFC Richmond. She liked Rebecca, she liked Higgins, she…could tolerate Ted. Coach Beard, whose lack of first name didn’t seem to bother anyone, and Roy Kent seemed decent. Some of the Greyhounds were more friendly than others. The work was something she was perfectly skilled at. But Y/n couldn’t say she was in love with any part of the job.

“It’s…” Y/n struggled to answer truthfully while staying grateful, “Definitely a unique place.”

“It’s a lot to get used to if you’ve never been in that world,” Keeley replied, picking up on the top notes of what Y/n was saying.

“Yeah,” Y/n nodded, relaxing a little, “That’s not to say that I’m not happy there. I just think it’s going to take a little while to adjust.”

Keeley took a long sip of her drink before speaking, “Well, if there’s one thing I learned being there, it’s that you’ve got to leave yourself open to new things. I mean, when I first met Rebecca, I was fucking terrified of her. Felt like I was gonna piss myself anytime she looked at me.”

Y/n scrunched her brows in confusion.

“But,” Keeley rested an arm on the back of the sofa, “Once I decided I wasn’t going to be intimidated by her anymore, we became best friends. Now I can’t imagine my life without her.”

“That’s wonderful,” Y/n smiled softly down at her coffee cup, trying to hold her tongue as much as she could, “For you guys, but…I can’t say that I’m looking for anything more from Richmond than a decent place to work.”

One look at Keeley’s face and it was clear nothing about that answer was computing. “Why?”

Y/n slowly shrugged as she searched for the proper answer. “I just…I don’t know, I just feel like there’s your personal life and your professional life and the two don’t really go together. That’s not to say it doesn’t work for some people,” she gestured towards Keeley with her cup, “It clearly did for you. Just…I don’t see that in the cards for me.”

Watching Y/n as she sipped her coffee, Keeley felt reminiscent of the very time she’d just described. She’d cracked Rebecca open, and this felt like another grand opportunity.

“Well,” Keeley smiled knowingly, “I think it’s worth investing time in the people you work with. Like us,” she reached forwards and tapped Y/n’s knee, “I want us to be friends.”

Y/n chuckled, feeling trapped between a very pink rock and an equally pink hard place.

“Even if it takes the whole season,” Keeley continued, narrowing her eyes, “And endless weekends sat in the owner’s box together…”

“This is getting into HR territory,” Y/n smirked.

“Shows what you know,” Keeley replied smugly, “We don’t have an HR department yet.”

Unable to stop herself, Y/n joined in with Keeley’s laughter.

“Now,” Keeley bent down and slipped her heels back on, “We’ve got a meeting to get to.”

Rising from the sofa, Y/n felt like she was going to get whiplash from how fast the atmosphere shifted from work to anything but.

—————————

Keeley and Y/n made the short drive to Nelson Road and went straight up to Rebecca’s office. Y/n had daily meetings with the Greyhound’s owner and Higgins, but Keeley only popped in once a week.

“Morning,” Keeley knocked on Rebecca’s door, but entered without asking.

“Good morning,” Rebecca said in a voice Y/n had quickly learned only came out when she was stressed.

“Something wrong?” Y/n asked as she set her purse by the coffee table.

Rebecca took a breath, “Trent Crimm will be joining our meeting this morning. Apparently he has a proposition he’d like to talk to us about.”

Y/n confusedly looked to Keeley before bouncing back to Rebecca.

“Trent previously worked for The Independent,” she continued, “I don’t know if you read the article about Ted’s panic attacks last season, but he was at the helm.”

In fact, Y/n hadn’t read anything about Ted’s panic attacks until recently. And if she had heard the name ‘Trent Crimm,’ it hadn’t made a lasting impression.

“So…” Y/n started, “Do we like him or…?”

“I suppose it’s neutral,” Rebecca sighed, “Or that could change within the hour. We’ll see.”

Y/n gave a thin lipped smile, “Fun.”

By the time the three letters hit the air. Higgins was knocking on Rebecca’s door, Trent Crimm in tow.

“Good morning, all,” he greeted, “I’ve brought our special guest.”

Rebecca stood to her feet, smoothing her blouse as she did, “Trent. Always a pleasure.”

“The pleasure’s mine,” Trent said, his voice smooth and even as he shook Rebecca’s hand.

“I believe you’ve met Keeley Jones,” Rebecca gestured to her friend, “But you haven’t met our latest hire. This is Miss Y/n Y/l/n, she’s heading up PR alongside Keeley.”

Y/n stretched her hand over Rebecca’s desk to take Trent’s.

“Lovely to meet you, Miss Y/l/n,” the former journalist greeted.

“You as well,” Y/n replied, keeping an even expression.

Rebecca gestured towards the chair on the opposite side of the desk, “Please.”

Trent took a seat while Y/n, Keeley and Higgins formed a united front on either side of Rebecca

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I requested to meet with you,” Trent said, pausing briefly after, “As you know, I recently left my position at The Independent in favor of pursuing other creative avenues. However, having spent much time here, as well as other clubs, I know how unique AFC Richmond is.”

Unique. The same word Y/n had used to describe her feelings on Richmond. So she wasn’t the only one who saw it…

“Not only this past season,” Trent continued, “Being relegated only to make a triumphant return, but the team, the coaches…” Trent spread his hands, “It’s all quite special in contrast to other clubs.”

Finally, Trent paused the flattery and got to the heart of the matter. “I’m quite interested in writing a book about AFC Richmond. It would, of course, contain some of the club’s rich history, but I’d specifically like to focus on this season, which would entail shadowing the club for its entirety.”

Red lights. Big, red flashing lights went off in Y/n’s head.

“Well,” Rebecca stuttered, reaching for her tea cup, “That is…certainly a proposition.”

“Quite,” Higgins agreed, that nervous smile pasted on his face.

“It’s wonderful to hear,” Y/n added, glancing briefly over to Keeley and seeing the same panic in her eyes, “That the club’s so highly regarded.”

Trent smiled easily as he waited for an answer.

“But,” Rebecca said rather loudly, before catching herself, “I feel that the final say can’t come from me. I think it’s only right that Coach Lasso be the one who decides.”

“Yes,” Keeley interjected, “That’s a very good point.”

Speak of the devil, or whatever inhumanly cheery being he channeled each morning, The Final Say rapped his knuckles on the door.

“Good morning, Viet-“ Ted began as he strolled in.

All at once, in nervous relief, Rebecca, Keeley, Higgins and Y/n all shouted, “Ted!”

“Hey, look who’s here,” Ted grinned, pointing to Keeley, “Hi, Keeley.”

“Hello, Ted,” Trent turned in his chair.

Ted stopped in place, before shaking the man’s hand, “Trent Crimm. Are you kiddin’ me? Hey, nice to see you, man. You know, they got a big ol’ Ziploc bag full of your hair ties down at the lost and found. You should pop on down, i-if you still want ‘em.”

Ted went about placing the daily delivery of biscuits on Rebecca’s desk, something Y/n still didn’t understand.

“Mr. Crimm has requested to follow the club this year,” Rebecca paraphrased, grinning unnaturally large at Ted, “He wants to write a book about us.”

“Oh, yeah?” Ted raised a curious eyebrow.

“I think there’s a story here worth telling, Ted,” Trent said.

“Yes,” Rebecca smiled, “And we all,” she gestured to her own team, “Love the idea, but obviously as manager, we thought you should have the final decision.”

Ted sucked his teeth, “Oh, okay.”

As he began to think it over, and while Trent’s back was turned on the group, Keeley, Rebecca, Higgins and Y/n began to mouth and gesture a silent chorus of ‘no’ to Ted.

“I mean, geez, you know…” Ted stalled, his eyes bouncing between his co-workers and Trent.

It was a nightmare waiting to unfold, Y/n tried to communicate that passionately with each shake of her head. All eyes were already on Richmond, waiting for them to mess up. Waiting for some drama that could be exploited. They didn’t need someone describing every failure in graphic detail, catching every ugly moment…

Ted felt otherwise.

“Sure, what the heck? Why not?”

Y/n grimaced.

“When can you start?” Ted asked, “No time like the present. Except 11:11, that’s my wishing time. Or 23:11, if I’m at a military base or Euro Disney.”

“Right, well,” Rebecca breathed, “Decision made. Wonderful,” she smiled at the newest addition to the Richmond fold, “Trent, welcome.”

Y/n kept the same polite smile, praying her face held.

The chime of Higgins’ mobile broke the awkward silence.

“Holy shit,” the man exclaimed, “Zava is leaving Juventus.”

“Whoa,” Keeley cried, reaching for her phone in time with Rebecca.

“Wait,” Y/n paused, “‘Zava’ Zava?”

Ted gasped, “What about their kids?” He earned himself a brief glare from the foursome across from him, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what any of those things meant. I thought it was like Greek mythology or something. I was just lost. I just went with that. Sorry.”

“Zava’s a world class striker who’s about to leave his club in Italy,” Trent explained for Ted’s benefit, but Y/n listened as well. She knew nothing more than the name.

“Ooh,” Ted replied, “Cacio later, Pepe.”

“Apparently,” Higgins began to read from the headlines, “He wants to play in the Premier League because his wife binged The Office and she wants to live in England.”

“I think you mean Scranton, Pennsylvania, buddy,” Ted pointed toward Higgins.

“We didn’t do it first, Ted,” Y/n replied, glancing up from Google quickly, “Ricky Gervais?”

“Oh, that’s right,” Ted remembered, “Y’all did a premake over here.”

Higgins brought them back to the original topic. “If we got Zava,” he breathed, “That would be amazing.”

“He would be huge for the club’s brand,” Keeley added, “He’s got, like, 90 million followers. One time he just posted the word ‘7 million likes.’ It got 10 million likes.”

“Yes, but he is very expensive,” Rebecca countered, “And isn’t he supposed to be a bit of a diva?”

Y/n was scanning the top search results for the star player, already not thrilled with the level of consistent inconsistency she saw. But Keeley was right, he was on his way to Beckham level status.

“Yes, huge diva,” the blonde answered, “Enormous. He goes through teams like you go through manicurists.”

“The fumes make me dizzy,” Rebecca defended, “And I overshare,” she quickly looked to Trent, “Please don’t print that.”

“We have to balance what he’d do for the brand versus the enviroment he’d create,” Y/n spoke up, “But, yes, generally speaking, he’d be incredible.”

“Zava has gone through 14 teams in 15 years,” Higgins spoke for the other side, “Leaving behind nothing but chaos and trophies,” longing developed in the man’s eyes, “Beautiful, shiny trophies.”

Rebecca sighed, “Yes, but, Leslie, who wants to deal with all that drama?”

“Apparently, everyone who can afford him,” Higgins answered, scrolling an article, “Chelsea, Arsenal, United, West Ham…”

“I say, let’s just go for it,” Rebecca said, barely letting a beat pass after the utterance of her ex’s team, “I mean, maybe he’s a handful, but who doesn’t love a handful?”

“Well, I mean, if you’re talking salted peanuts,” Ted replied, “Yes, please. If you’re talking Skittles though, no thank you. You know, the dye melts and it gets all over your fingers, makes ‘em all sticky,” Ted laughed before pointing to Trent, “And that, you can print.”

“Wonderful,” Higgins decided, “Let’s set up a meeting.”

“Great,” Rebecca cheered as the rest of the room voiced their own enthusiasm, “Let’s go get Zava. Zava-dabba-doo!”

Keeley and Y/n each collected their things and headed for the door with Higgins and Ted.

“This is exciting,” Keeley said cheerily.

“Potentially a huge headache,” Y/n replied, ever the more pessimistic, “But it could be great.”

“So, am I to assume,” Trent asked Rebecca, not having moved from his spot, “You’re going to pursue a notoriously mercurial player you can’t really afford simply because the team your ex-husband owns wants him?”

From the door, Ted, Higgins, Y/n and Keeley all gave an encore of the previous performance, gesturing wildly to Rebecca to answer ‘no.’

Following Ted’s lead, Rebecca responded truthfully. “Yes.”

A second of silence passed before Trent gave an approving smile, “Love that.”

Feeling safe leaving Rebecca and Trent alone, Y/n followed the group out and down the stairs. Keeley informed her along the way that she was off to oversee a commercial shoot, but to text her if she had any questions. Regardless of Y/n’s reservations, she admired that Keeley was a hands-on boss.

Once in her office, Y/n set down her things and tried to ignore the nagging feeling in her gut that she needed to speak to Ted. He’d gone forward with Trent Crimm’s book idea without even considering the possible repercussions for the club. One week on the job had shown Y/n that Ted was optimistic to a fault.

“He knows what he’s doing, he knows what he’s doing,” Y/n muttered to herself, taking a deep breath and sitting down at her desk. She’d barely made contact with the chair before she was back up, “Nope.”

Descending down the staircase with purpose in each step, Y/n made a beeline for the coach’s office, passing Keeley and Isaac. She knocked on the door twice before poking her head in.

“Well, hey there, Y/n,” Ted greeted from his office, waving her over, “Come on in.”

“Hi,” Y/n smiled, shutting the door behind her and coming to stand before Ted and Coach Beard’s adjoined desks. The latter wasn’t in yet. “Do you have a second?”

“Hey, for a fellow ex-pat, you can have two,” Ted joked.

Y/n had prayed on multiple occasions that she’d learn to appreciate Ted’s off-beat humor as everyone else seemed to. God had yet to deliver.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re considering,” Y/n gestured circularly with her hands, “All the angles of what allowing Mr. Crimm to follow us this season means.”

“Okay,” Ted replied, moving to sit down at his desk, “Speak your mind, small fry.”

“Look, I know that a book all about Richmond sounds flattering,” Y/n explained, “And it is, but…regardless of whether he currently works for a publication or not, Trent is, at his core, a journalist. And some journalists may say they’re out to capture the good, but most of them are only interested in capturing the bad. And he’s going to be here for,” Y/n shut her eyes to accentuate the point, “Every single moment of the season. Which means every slip of the tongue, every mistake, basically,” she gestured between Ted and Coach Beard’s chair, “Any wrong move you or the team make will be put into print and potentially inflated to make you look even worse. It’s just…” Y/n took a breath, “Not the best idea.”

To his credit, Ted not only listened to Y/n’s points, but seemed to genuinely consider them.

“Well, I appreciate you bringin’ all that up, Y/n,” Ted finally replied, “Really. But I’ve known Trent a while and he’s a good egg. He’s not gonna try and paint us any other way than which we are.”

Y/n’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “This is the same man who wrote about you having a panic attack on the pitch.”

“Oh,” Ted waved the memory off, “He was just doin’ his job. Ain’t no water needs to pass under that bridge.”

“Uh-huh,” Y/n replied, her mouth hanging open at the lack of thought that was going into this.

“All that aside, I think Trent’s gonna do a bang-up job,” Ted smiled, “And if anything comes up, we’ll make sure to let him know to leave it out.”

“Okay,” Y/n clapped her hands together before holding them up, “Forget I said anything.”

“Wait, what was that?” Ted asked, pressing a hand to his ear for added comedic effect.

Y/n threw him a courtesy chuckle as she made for the door, letting the faux smile fall as soon as her back was turned. She could officially go on record of saying she’d tried to save the club’s reputation. If Ted wanted to sabotage that, it wouldn’t fall on her head…

Emerging in the hallway, Y/n was more in her head than her surroundings. A solid blonde and blue blur in her peripheral vision, Jamie Tartt, brought her back. He was laser-locked on something down the hall.

Y/n came to a stop, glancing down the way from them to see the back of Roy Kent, bobbing down the hall, and Keeley standing by herself, with a bag over her shoulder.

“What are you looking at?” Y/n asked, more confused than curious.

“Science,” Jamie mumbled, his eyes following Keeley as she turned on her heel.

Y/n squinted at the reply, “Huh?”

“I think Roy and Keeley broke up,” Jamie answered.

“They were dating?” Y/n asked, her eyes now trailing Keeley as well.

The question finally broke Jamie’s focus and he turned to Y/n, “How could you not know that? I thought you and Keeley were mates.”

“She’s my boss,” Y/n gave a sideways glance, “Her personal life is none of my business.”

Y/n turned to Jamie, who was already tuned out of the conversation. “But something tells me it’s yours so,” she clutched the rail and swung up the stairs, “Have a good one.”

Behind her, Jamie mumbled some reply as they went on their separate ways.

—————————

Later in the day, after extensive research on Zava amongst other tasks, Y/n’s phone buzzed with a text from Keeley.

Are you free for a drink after work?

She sighed tiredly, out of all the people trying to befriend her, Keeley’s efforts were the hardest to combat. Maybe because she was sunshine personified, maybe because Y/n could tell she didn’t have an dis-genuine bone in her body…all she knew was she truly didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

A second text came through, offering salvation.

Promise it’s work related.

Y/n sent a reply immediately.

Sounds good. Text me where.

Once quitting time came around, Y/n drove to the posher side of Richmond and the address of the bar Keeley had given her. It was more upscale than the Crown and Anchor, but not so much so that it would be obscenely priced.

To her credit, Keeley dove right into the business of it all when they sat down. She told Y/n how at the commerical shoot, she’d run into an old friend from her modeling days and had offered her a job with KJPR. Something along the lines of a liaison coordinator between clients.

“Okay,” Y/n shrugged, “I don’t really see how this involves me though.”

“Well,” Keeley slid her martini glass away, “I was wondering, since you’ve got so much experience, if you wouldn’t mind helping me help her get adjusted? It’s a bit of a jump from her previous jobs and I just want to make sure she does well.”

While Keeley could sometimes appear naive, she wasn’t to be underestimated. Y/n knew this already. She was never in the KJPR office for more than twenty minutes at a time. She barely knew the names of the other employees. Keeley knew all this as well.

Y/n narrowed her eyes at her boss, “That’s not why you asked me out tonight.”

Keeley held her gaze a few seconds before breaking with a small smile, “No, it’s not. I just said that so you’d come.”

Y/n rolled her eyes only in half-annoyance as Keeley cackled.

“But I really would appreciate your help with Shandy whenever you’re around,” Keeley said firmly, “She’d benefit a lot, learning from you.”

“Sure,” Y/n shrugged, not even realizing that she was smiling, “Fine. But if she’s as deceitful as you, I want nothing to do with her.”

Keeley chuckled, “Fair. How’d your day go?”

“Fine,” Y/n sighed, twirling the olive on the toothpick of her drink, “Sounds like you had a better one though.”

“Yeah,” Keeley replied, her voice dropping and her eyes suddenly turning sad.

Y/n didn’t need to be told not to pry into anyone’s life, it was a professional courtesy she wanted herself. But if the members of AFC Richmond were so personally intwined, there was a certain amount she had to know.

“Can I ask you something?” Y/n carefully broached the topic.

“Yeah, of course,” Keeley replied softly.

“You and Coach Kent…” Y/n awkwardly ran her finger along the bottom of her glass, “Were you…?”

Keeley gave an almost imperceptible nod, averting her gaze back to her drink.

“I don’t need to know anything,” Y/n held her hands up, “I-“

“No, it’s fine,” Keeley dismissed her, “I mean, it sucks, but it also helps to talk about it.”

Not the intended result, but Y/n wasn’t going to shut Keeley down. It felt like girl code.

“I don’t know, it just…” Keeley pressed a hand to the side of her face, “Really came out of nowhere. I keep thinking back and trying to find where things started going wrong, but I can’t find anything. I mean, I’m wracking my brain constantly just wondering what I did wrong.”

“Look, I don’t know the situation,” Y/n replied, “The little I know about Coach Kent, he seems like a…” she searched for the right word, “Somewhat difficult person.”

Keeley breathed a laugh, “Yeah, sometimes. But not how you’d think.”

“But…maybe things just didn’t work because they didn’t work?” Y/n suggested, trying to ease a fellow woman’s pain a little, “I don’t know.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Keeley replied, not yet meeting Y/n’s eyes, “I just…”

She didn’t need to finish her sentence. Judging by the longing in her eyes, Y/n knew the next words would only reflect the love that remained on her end.

“Right, enough about me,” Keeley said, perking back up, “I just spilled my guts to you,” she poked Y/n’s arm, “Now you’ve gotta give me something.”

“I’ve got nothing to give,” Y/n chuckled and took a sip of her drink.

“Oh, there’s gotta be something,” Keeley squinted, “Have any of the players started hitting on you yet?”

Y/n nearly choked, “Thankfully no.”

“Are there any you want to hit on you?”

This time, Y/n was thankful she didn’t have anything in her mouth or else she definitely would have choked. “No,” she replied, her voice going up in pitch.

“Oh, come on,” Keeley laughed, “There’s gotta be someone.”

“Absolutely not,” Y/n swiped a hand through the air, “Unless you count Dani Rojas picking me up and spinning me around like he’d just come home from war, there’s been nothing.”

“Oh, that’s just Dani,” Keeley smiled, “He’s a sweetheart. But I’d bet you five quid, someone’s already got their eye on you.”

Y/n scrunched up her face at the possibilities of the thought. “Oh, don’t say that.”

“What?” Keeley shrugged, “You’re mad fit, you’re there all the time…someone’s gonna notice you.”

“Subject change,” Y/n shook her head,“Dear God.”

The night went on like that: Keeley trying to see how uncomfortable she could make Y/n until she laughed, which only resulted in them both laughing.

—————————

Richmond’s first match of the season arrived on a clear Sunday afternoon in Chelsea.

Y/n got herself to the stadium, clutching her Richmond badge just in case Rebecca had forgotten to put her name on the list. But sure enough, she sailed right on through security and rode the elevator all the way up to the VIP box. Coming down the aisles of seats, Y/n spotted the trio that were quickly becoming her group. Higgins, Keeley and Rebecca were huddled together in deep discussion.

“What’d I miss?” Y/n asked as they parted, taking the vacant seat next to Rebecca.

“According to Higgin’s wife’s, friend’s, sister’s airline stewardess’ massage therapist,” Rebecca sputtered, “Zava’s going to sign with Chelsea.”

“Oh,” Y/n sighed, feeling a bit deflated, “That’s too bad.”

It didn’t take long for the crowd to begin chanting, though neither team had come onto the pitch yet. Y/n glanced down at the field and spotted Roy Kent, facing the crowd and giving a reserved salute. She’d forgotten he was a Chelsea legend.

Y/n glanced over to Keeley, who was firmly squeezing Rebecca’s hand, and felt a twinge of sympathy pain.

But as quick as the crowd had been to cheer on Roy, their attention flipped as Zava himself came through the VIP section, taking a seat in the front row.

Y/n sighed, “Well, that’s a bit of salt in the wound.”

Not before long, the match kicked off. It had been a solid year since Y/n had been to a game, and even longer since she’d been remotely interested. But working for a club, she had to get back into it to some extent. She reacquainted herself with the rules as the clock ticked, her eyes bouncing between players. By the end of the first half, it was 1-0 in favor of Chelsea.

A loud gag came from Higgins, breaking Y/n out of her thoughts. “Is he okay?”

Rebecca didn’t seem at all concerned, “What now?”

“I might’ve jinxed it,” Higgins replied nervously, looking over towards where Zava was seated.

Y/n leaned forward to see an older man approaching the striker, shaking his hand confidently.

“I knew it,” Rebecca complained.

“I’m confused, who’s-“

Y/n’s sentence stopped in its tracks as the older man took off his sunglasses, revealing himself to be Rupert Mannion.

“Oh,” Y/n’s mouth hung around the vowel.

“Would you please go and find out as much as you can from your vast network of lip-reading massage therapists?” Rebecca asked of Higgins, who promptly departed with his phone.

Y/n took the opportunity to scan Rupert from a distance. He looked perfectly pleasant and somehow, that let Y/n know he was as dangerous as he’d been made out to be.

“Rupert’s gonna land Zava,” Rebecca stated.

“You don’t know that,” Keeley replied.

Rebecca sighed, launching into a story, “Years ago when I was bartending in that private club, Rupert and his then wife came into the bar,” she laughed, “He was the life and soul of the party. Buying rounds of drinks for everyone, telling stories. Just charm personified. And he left me a massive tip. And then about a week later, he came back without his wife and asked me out. I, of course, said no and then he left.

“What a dick,” Keeley replied.

“I’ll second that,” Y/n raised an eyebrow, glancing over at the dick in question.

“But then he came back the next night, and the next night, and the next,” Rebecca continued, “And he would just sit at the bar with a drink and chatted to me till close. And he just said ‘It doesn’t matter if you ever go out with me. It’s just worth it being here to get to know you.’”

Y/n and Keeley looked out at the air ahead of them, both contemplating the almost magic of it.

“It’s a fine line between stalking and romance,” Keeley mused.

“And after about six weeks of that,” Rebecca was building towards the conclusion, “He asked me out again. And I said yes without any hesitation because by that point…I just felt so lucky because he wanted me.”

Y/n gazed over at Rebecca, feeling the pang of understanding only women could share. The same one she felt for Keeley.

“He made me feel special,” Rebecca said, old emotion welling in her throat, “Chosen,” she glanced over at where her ex stood, “He made me feel like that.”

Y/n and Keeley looked over to a grinning Rupert, charming many laughs out of Zava.

While Keeley reached over and took her best friend’s hand, Y/n met Rebecca’s eyes and gave her the warmest smile she’d given anyone at Richmond so far. Through that, she hoped, Rebecca would know she was with her.

Not a moment later, Higgins shimmied his way back through their row.

“Well?” Rebecca asked as the three women straightened.

“I just got off the phone with my son’s karate teacher,” Higgins began to recall the trail of communication, “Who used to date the woman who ran Zava’s avocado ranch-”

“Would you please get on with it?” Rebecca rushed.

“He might be going to West Ham,” Higgins nervously answered.

“Damn,” Y/n fell back in her seat, more disappointed with more context.

“Shit,” Keeley exclaimed.

“I knew it,” Rebecca shrugged, entirely unsurprised. “Rupert always gets what he wants.”

The four of them sat there, wallowing in defeat, before Rebecca’s posture perked up again.

“You know what,” she pulled her purse from the floor, “If Rupert can sweet-talk Zava into joining his club, then so can I.”

“Yes,” Keeley cheered her friend on, standing up to let her out the row.

“Alright,” Y/n nodded, proud that Rebecca was willing to fight for the club. Better yet, despite her desperation, she could handle it with grace.

The second half began and the Greyhounds came out on the attack with a new vigor. Y/n wasn’t sure what happened in the locker rooms between halves, but something had changed during the fifteen minute break and it was working for them. Colin delivered the ball to Jamie, who passed it to Sam, who made a spectacular kick that bounced off the goal post, hitting Dani in the face, which resulted in an even more spectacular rebound into the net.

Keeley was out of her seat cheering, hugging Higgins before tugging on Y/n’s hands excitedly. Even though she was only getting re-familiarized with the sport, Y/n felt a pit of joy in her stomach as she watched the team celebrating on the pitch.

After the point, Rebecca made her way back down the row and rejoined the group.

“Well?” Y/n asked, extending her hands in anticipation.

“Did you sweet talk him?” Higgins asked.

“Uh,” Rebecca adjusted her coat, “What’s the opposite of that?”

The three of them thought a moment.

“Sour-yell,” Keeley came up with.

“Yeah,” Rebecca nodded, keeping her eyes on the match, “I did that.”

Keeley, Higgins and Y/n looked to one another in confusion. Any dignity Rebecca possessed seemed to disappear in the face of Rupert Mannion. But now, it had possibly cost them Zava, and Y/n felt the opportunities slip through their fingers.

The game, however, ended better than Rebecca’s conversation. A 1-1 draw and Richmond left with a goal on the board. The team was proud, and in turn, Y/n felt an inkling of pride.

“Right, well,” Y/n sighed as their section began to empty, “Shall we?”

“Yes,” Rebecca replied speedily, gathering her items, “I don’t think I can handle another run-in.”

The foursome picked up and left, heading back into the stadium.

“No one else was around for your…” Y/n fished for some better term for Rebecca’s blow up, “Sour-yell, right?”

“Thankfully, no. But I still think we need to get straight back to the office,” Rebecca answered as they climbed the steps, “It’s not safe here.”

As they made their way out, an above head TV screen spoke unavoidably loud.

“Please welcome the newest member of Chelsea Football Club,” one of the team’s staff said from the press room, “Zava.”

Keeley, Y/n, Rebecca and Higgins froze under the picture, unable to look away as Zava picked up the contract and paused before signing.

“I have changed my mind,” he told the room full of journalists, “Zava will not play for Chelsea.”

“Oh,” Rebecca sighed, “I’m sorry, I can’t watch this.”

As she left, Keeley followed with Higgins and Y/n bringing up the rear.

“Zava will play for Richmond.”

At hearing the name of their club, the group hastened back around the hall corner, mouths agape. As the press room filled with question after question that Zava would leave unanswered, Keeley hugged Rebecca and squealed. Y/n found herself laughing, pressing a hand to her chest in shock.

“So he responds well to yelling,” Y/n exclaimed.

“You did it,” Keeley grinned as she squeezed her friend, “You did it!”

Rebecca looked proud of herself, and rightfully so. This was a win for her, for the brand, for the whole of AFC Richmond. The season had just taken a massive turn in, potentially, the best direction.

“Okay, definitely back to the office,” Keeley made a plan, “We’ve got to put out a statement.”

“Right,” Rebecca smiled, victoriously leading her team out of the stadium.

—————————

After writing up an official announcement with Keeley, Y/n headed out for the night. She made it down the staircase just as the last of the Greyhounds were leaving the locker room, dressed for a night out.

“Ah, Y/n,” Sam called, giving a little wave.

“Hey,” Y/n greeted, “Congratulations on that goal today,” she looked to Dani with an awkward smile, “And…you too, I think?”

Dani laughed, “It was magnificent.”

“That it was,” Y/n chuckled.

“Listen,” Sam interjected, “The team is going out for a celebratory drink. Can we convince you to come and join us?”

Y/n shut her mouth and wracked her brain for replies that wouldn’t make her sound like an asshole. She liked the players, from the few interactions she’d had with them, but going out to a club with them was definitely not in her job description.

“That’s really sweet,” she smiled, “But I actually have plans.”

“Ah,” Sam nodded, painting his face with mock defeat, “Perhaps next time? When we win?”

“Maybe,” Y/n smiled, realizing she’d have to come up with another lie when the time came, “But you guys have a great time.”

“Oh, it is already a great time,” Dani replied as he began to make his way down the hall, pumping his fists in the air, “We got Zava!”

Sam and Y/n shared a laugh before bidding each other goodnight. Y/n waited a few minutes in the hall until the last sports car had left the lot before exiting herself.

Once back in the safety of her apartment, she changed into pajamas and flipped on the television. Keeping the volume low, she pulled out her cell from her purse and dialed a familiar number.

“Hey,” her sister’s voice came through after two rings.

“Hi,” Y/n sang as she moved around her kitchen.

“How’s the great football executive?” Caylee asked.

Y/n scanned the contents of her freezer, settling on a frozen lasagna. “Definitely not my title. And definitely not one I want.”

“What? Who wouldn’t want to be in charge of a team who score goals with their face?”

Y/n got a laugh out of the memory, “You watched the game?”

“Of course I did,” Caylee replied, an smile evident in her voice, “Still don’t fully get it, but I watched it.”

Watching as her dinner spun in the microwave, Y/n smiled. Thousands of miles between them and it felt like her little sister was just in the next room.

“Well, ‘one’ would not want to be in charge of a team that scores with their face, or allows a tabloid writer to tail them all season,” Y/n listed off the incidents of the week, opening the microwave before it could beep, “Or gets photographed coming out of a bloody sewer.”

“Ah,” Caylee understood immediately, “Still got that ten foot pole?”

Y/n could finally sigh in exhaustion without worrying anyone would catch her. “Cayl, if you spent two seconds here, you’d understand why.”

“No,” Caylee calmly said, her voice jumping an octave, “That’s never been my thing. It’s always been yours.”

Setting her dinner down on her kitchen table, Y/n took a seat. “It’s not that it’s a bad place, it’s a good gig. The people are just…a lot.”

Caylee hummed, decoding what her sister meant. It came off condescending.

“What’s that?” Y/n asked, semi-annoyed.

“Nothing,” Caylee replied.

“It’s something.”

“Nope,” Caylee popped her lips, “Just wondering if you ever get lonely up there in your cold corporate castle.”

The thing about talking to people who knew you…was that they knew you. Caylee was the only person that could see through Y/n’s barriers and knew exactly what prompted their creation. She was the one person Y/n couldn’t hide from.

“How could I ever be lonely when I’ve got you?” Y/n finally answered, reaching for the tv remote.

Caylee snorted, “Alright, c’mon, fill me in. I wanna hear everything.”

Y/n channel surfed until she hit Sky Sports, where the highlights of the match were being played. The main attraction, of course, was Dani’s goal.

“I don’t even know where to start…” she smiled, watching the replay and settling in for the night.

—————

Heartfirst Taglist

@lalla-04p @optimisticsandwichgladiator @makingmunson94 @taytaylala12 @storysimp @sokkigarden @lightninginab0ttle @poohkie90 @alipap3 @verra-nerevarine @shineforever19 @spaceagechimera @burnafter-reading @qardasngan @cyberpvnk-enthusiast @sogoodtoheritsvicious @buckybarnex @angelsunflxwer @blueanfield

[disillusioneddanny]

Love Me Like You

Absolutely wrote this instead of going to sleep. This is based off of the song Love Like You by Rebecca Sugar for steven universe.

Damian’s heart was racing violently in his chest. He was angry, no he was beyond angry. No one was listening to him! He was twenty years old now, he wasn’t some little Robin sidekick anymore either, he was Red Bird, he had taken a different name and become his own person as a vigilante yet it didn’t seem to matter to anyone in this blasted family. All they saw him as was the demon brat, the boy who had been raised to become an assassin who had been brainwashed his entire life. 

But he wasn’t that boy any longer! He had been out of the League of Assassins for the same amount of time he had been in it. If not a little longer if one could count the fact that the ten years he was with his family he was fully cognizant and could make his own decisions, unlike the toddler he had been with the League. 

Sure, he had been moulded to be the perfect weapon, the perfect heir to the Demon’s Head but he was more than that now, he was so, so, so much more than that. 

He was a hero, he was someone that others could look upon and be inspired. He wasn’t some ruffian assassin any longer and his past shouldn’t matter in the slightest anymore. At least, it shouldn’t be thrown in his face by his own family every chance he got. 

He stormed up the steps of the Brownstone he owned with his boyfriend and let out a huff, trying to calm his racing heart before he stepped into the home.  It would be different once he was past these bricks, he would be in the company of someone who saw him completely and loved him anyways. 

He stepped through the threshold and smiled as he found his beloved passed out on the couch, curled up with a blanket wrapped around him. 

If I could begin to be, half of what you think of me. I could do about anything. 

Damian smiled at his boyfriend before he stooped down, slipping one arm underneath Danny’s legs and the other under his neck as he lifted him in the air carefully, cradling him bridal style in his arms. 

“Tried to stay up and wait for you,” the halfa mumbled, pressing his face against Damian’s chest. “Got too tired.”

“It is alright, Beloved,” Damian murmured before he pressed a kiss to Danny’s forehead. “Rest, I assume you had a busy day, my dear?”

“Justice League Dark are full of idiots who don’t know their ass from their head,” Danny mumbled as Damian opened the bedroom door. 

He let out a soft chuckle at that. He would not be surprised if his beloved lost his mind even a little bit when having to work with both that dreadful Constantine and Doctor Fate at the same time. 

“Who all were there?” Damian asked as he set Danny on the bed. The halfa whined at the loss of Damian’s warmth, making the vigilante’s heart flutter. 

When I see the way you act, wondering when I’m coming back. I could do about anything.

“Give me just a moment to change into some sleepwear and I’ll join you,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at Danny who now laid with a pillow wrapped in his arms and a pout on his face. “Now, tell me about the meeting.”

“I originally went to the Watchtower to work on one of the main engines, Supes had been saying it sounded wrong,” he said, launching into his tale but Damian was taken back to a different time, three years before when he had first met his love. 

 I could even learn how to love like you. 

Three years ago. 

Damian trailed behind his father into the main room of the Watchtower when he had noticed something out of the ordinary. There seemed to be someone floating on the outside of the ship without a space suit of any kind. 

“Batman,” he gasped out, stepping towards the man only for his steps to falter as the man-being waved at him with a wide smile. Bruce looked over curiously and smiled. 

“Oh, that’s Phantom,” he said simply. “He’s the head engineer of the Watchtower maintenance crew. Although, I have been trying to convince him to join us as an actual member for well over a month now. He refuses.”

“He looks no older than I do, how could he be the head engineer?” Damian asked, looking mystified as the being, Phantom phased through the window and gave him a dopey smile. 

“Would you believe me if I said I was just cool like that?” He asked, looking Damian up and down. “And who might you be?”

“Right, you’ve not seen him in his newest persona,” Batman said before, Damian’s eyes had to be deceiving him, his father was smiling at Phantom! “This is Red Bird.”

Damian held out a hand for Phantom. “It’s a pleasure,” he said, locking in on those eyes that reminded him of the Lazarus Pits he had grown up around. 

“Oh, I think the pleasure is all mine,” Phantom had purred, his eyes a green fire that had sucked Damian in immediately. He had never been bested so easily by someone else in all his life. 

I always thought I might be bad, now I’m sure that it’s true. 

He never did learn how Danny had managed to become the head engineer, even after three years of dating the halfa.

“And then Detective Chimp had to but in! Which why the hell do we have a fucking monkey on the team anyway! His name is fucking Bobo, Dami, Bobo!” Danny said, now fully awake as he laid starfished in their bed, the pillow now resting on his chest as he glared up at the ceiling. 

Damian chuckled and pulled his shirt over his head before he glanced at his boyfriend once more. “He is a detective, darling, quite a good one at that. I think he’s almost as good as,” Damian stopped and scowled. No, he was not going to go in that direction, he was not going to bring up his father, not when his mood was finally starting to lift and he had been distracted by his lover. 

“Oh, I know that look,” Danny said before he floated off of the bed and gave Damian a look as he cupped his face in his calloused hands. Danny’s right thumb ran along the small scar just below Damian’s left eye. Almost miniscule, no one had ever noticed it before except for Danny. It had been from his first time knife fighting as a child, his oppent had managed to get a single nick in and Damian had been punished within an inch of his life for letting someone get past his defenses. 

He had been five at the time. 

Danny had been ready to destroy all of Nanda Parbat when he had first learned how Damian had gotten the scar. No one had ever been so angry on his behalf before. Sure, his family were angry about his upbringing but not once had they ever truly considered the emotional and mental damage it had done to Damian. How he had to work so hard to be good in their eyes even after all these years.

Cause I think you’re so good, and I’m nothing like you.

“What did he say to you this time?” Danny asked, his big blue eyes curious and so very full of love. 

Damian sighed. “It doesn’t matter,” he said, stepping away to change into his pajama pants. Danny grabbed his wrist and frowned. 

“What did we talk about, Polaris?” He asked, brows now furrowed in concern. 

“My feelings matter,” Damian recited like a toddler back to his boyfriend. 

Look at you go, I just adore you. 

“Now, do you want to talk about it? Or do you want me to drop it?” Danny asked him, letting go of his wrist to instead wind their fingers together, interlocking them so that Damian could not escape his boyfriend’s grasp even if he wanted to.

Damian just smiled at him. “I do not wish to expand into the entire argument. But he told me that I will always be an assassin at heart and that I will never be more than that,” he said softly, his eyes sad as he tried his very best to not replay the argument in his head. 

I wish that I knew, what makes you think I’m so special. 

Danny’s face crumpled before he pulled Damian in for a tight hug, the shorter man pressed Damian’s face to his neck, forcing the vigilante to crouch slightly. “He’s wrong, you’re an amazing vigilante, Damian. You’ve done so much for people, for Gotham, ancients you’ve done so much for the world,” he said, combing his fingers through Damian’s hair. “You could have easily decided that this wasn’t the life for you when you left Talia, you could have decided to live as a normal kid and never get involved in any of this. But you became a vigilante anyway, and you’ve stayed a vigilante, a hero for the last ten years. Only a special kind of person could do that, Polaris,” Danny said softly, pressing a soft kiss to Damian’s damp cheek.

 He absolutely rubbed at his face, not even realizing that he had been crying.

If I could, begging to do, something that does right by you. I would do about anything. 

“Let’s get to bed,” Danny said, watching as Damian pulled away to slip his pajama bottoms on. Danny took his hand once more and led him to their large bed. He pulled the blankets back and slipped Damian in them.

Once Damian was secure underneath the blankets, Danny wrapped his arm around him and held him close. “You know, the first time I laid my eyes on you, Damian, I knew you were the one for me,” Danny whispered in his ear, his chin rested on Damian’s shoulder as the ghost spooned him, holding the vigilante close. “My core, it sung for you. It saw the good in you even then,” he whispered. 

Damian smiled. It had taken him so long to work up the nerve to ask Danny on a date. 

Three Years Earlier. 

Damian stared at the head engineer as he declined Batman’s offer once again to join the Justice League Dark, stating once again that his passion was for engineering and nothing more. Damian had walked towards him just moments later, finally working up the nerve to talk to the ghost once again. 

“Why do you need turning him down?” He asked, tilting his head to the side in curiosity. “Would you not like to use your powers to be a hero?”

Phantom had just smiled and shook his head. “Nope,” he said simply as he fasted the work belt to his waist. “Why would I do something that doesn’t make me happy?”

“For the safety of others? It is a duty, an obligation-”

“No, it isn’t,” Phantom told him. “It may be that for you, but it isn’t for me. I spent three long years trying to keep my hometown safe and I was very good at it until one day I realized it didn’t make me happy. There were others in the area who genuinely enjoyed being a hero so I let them take over. Then with all that extra time I graduated early, got my bachelor’s in engineering and now I’m working on the Watchtower as the head engineer while I get my masters. This is it for me, Redbird, it’s what makes me happy.”

Damian frowned. “But don’t you feel as though that is a waste?” He asked, trying to understand the man’s logic. 

Phantom shook his head. “Not at all. I’ve got a lot on my plate, you know? I’m the Ghost King for one, which thankfully isn’t a whole lot of work now that I’ve got a council that pretty much runs everything. I’m mostly just a figure head nowadays. And I’m just plain old Danny Phantom, the head engineer of the Justice League’s homebase. If they need me to consult with their Dark team or need my help, I’ll offer it. But I won’t go out of my way for it,” he explained. “It doesn’t bring me joy, I don’t feel a sense of pride saving the world or helping others. I just feel tired. And that’s okay.”

“I do not think I understand,” Damian said slowly. This was not something he had ever thought of. His entire life had been planned for him. First he was the heir to the Demon’s Head and then he was the heir to Batman, the only blood son. Expected to take on the mantle of Robin and fight side by side with Batman to keep the forces of evil at bay. 

And now Danny was telling him that he didn’t have to do that if it did not make him happy?

When I see the way you look, shaken by how long it took. I could do about anything. 

“Danny,” Damian said softly, turning over to face his beloved. He searched those beautiful blue eyes and let out a breath. “I do not think being RedBird brings me joy anymore.”

Danny just gave him a small smile. “That’s okay,” he whispered. “You’ve been kicking ass for ten years, that’s a long time to devote yourself to others.”

“Will you help me?” Damian asked, twining their fingers together. “Will you help me find what sparks joy for me?”

The smile Danny gave him was dazzling. “Of course, Polaris. I would be honored to help you,” he whispered. 

I could even learn how to love like you. 

Love like you. 

Love me like you. 

I hope you all enjoyed! If you want to read more of my work check out my AO3

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[cranberry-writes]

How Ted Lasso Characters would react to PDA!

Characters; Ted, Rebecca, Keeley, and Roy

Warnings; None, but i don’t know how british people act or talk so this may be a bit OOC

Ted Lasso:

-This man is the definition of a gentleman

-He probably won’t do much PDA next to handholding or cheek kissing unless you make the first move

-He’s all about making sure you feel comfortable

-You don’t feel like hugging right now? That’s okay! Do you want some tea? Coffee?

-I’d imagine he’d left something at home and you’d stop by the club to drop it off, he’d kiss you on the cheek and thank you for being so kind

-Definitely uses a pet name like “Sugar” or “Darlin”

-You kiss him on the lips and wish him a good day before leaving

-He’ll have the stupidest smile on his face for the rest of the day, if anyone asks why he’ll say something like “I’m the luckiest man alive, that’s all.”

Rebecca Welton

-She would be TERRIFIED about bringing you into the media’s attention

-She knows what it’s like to be picked apart and belittled by the media for no reason other than who she was dating and would do anything to make sure it didn’t happen to you

-Might hold your hand, probably won’t to much more than that in public.

-(In private she loves to hug, kiss, cuddle, everything)

-One day she leaves the house to go do something and you pull her in and kiss her goodbye, but before she leaves you tell her that you’d love to go public about your relationship

-She’s nervous, she tells you how draining it can be

-You don’t care, you want to be able to kiss your lovely girlfriend after a game or hug her at work

-She’s still minimal for PDA compared to others but she still hugs and kisses you on the cheek when ever she can <3

-Extra; Calls you “Darling” or “My love”, and if english isn’t your first language you bet she’ll call you a pet name in your mother tongue.

Keeley Jones;

-She LOVES PDA, she’ll almost always be holding your hand, hugging you, something

-Still super respectful if you aren’t super big on PDA

-If you also love PDA then expect her to never leave your side

-She won’t get risky or anything like that, but she just loves to show off how much y’all love each other

-Sometimes wears your clothes out in public

-Calls you “Babe” or “hot-stuff”

-At her office and you want to surprise her, when you see her she has her back facing you.

-You slowly walk up behind her before hugging her and kissing her on the cheek, she makes a noise then quickly starts laughing when she realizes it’s you

-“Babes! I love you but some warning would be nice.”

-Overall she’s just super nice n sweet :)

Roy Kent

- Not to big on PDA, while he will rest his hand on your waist (or vise versa) or hold your hand, he dosnt do much out side of that

- with one exception

-this man is jealous, and gets jealous fairly easily.

- some random person starts flirting with you? Roy will be all over you for the rest of the night

- Roy may seem kinda cold but he does love to show you affection, ask him to give you a massage or cuddle and he’ll do it in a heartbeat.

- Just like Ted he’s all about making sure you feel comfortable, literally anything you need, he’ll do it.

- If you initiate PDA he might be caught off guard, but he’ll recover fast

- You’re at the pub one night, celebrating a win with the team and the rest of the club. Right as Roy gets up to grab another round of drinks you pull him down and give him a heavy kiss

- when you pull back he looks shocked for maybe a second, he’ll quickly get a smile on his face and say something british smart-assish like “You cheeky fucker.”

- He’s a sweet ass that’s a bit protective

[faelapis]

genuinely, unironically going to keep my expectations for rebecca sugar's "big announcement" to a minimum. mostly because if it was something actually big, i feel like it would be announced through like. a con. or official cartoon network channels. not a charity stream.

going by previous things CN has allowed rebecca sugar to announce with no pomp or circumstance, i would guess at MOST maybe we'd get some behind-the-scenes content, or another vinyl record. maybe an art book. anything beyond that feels unrealistic for the setting.

THAT BEING SAID - please do turn up and watch rebecca sugar's livestream on september 17th! because if ANYTHING is even being CONSIDERED regarding SU, cartoon network is probably trying to gauge interest. any show of support is good!

[my-soupy-brain]

I’m obsessed with anything you write about y/n taking care of Ted and him being surprised because he’s not used to it!!! warms and breaks my heart at the same time

I'm in a caregiver mood for that man at any hour of the day. So how about some cute blurbs about exactly that? Ted deserves love and care. So let's gooo!

---

Relationship: Ted Lasso x reader

Warnings: Mostly comfort, a little smut

---

Ted smiled when he opened his eyes, and saw you standing over him with a cup of hot cocoa.

He hadn't felt well when he went to bed, his throat a little scratchy which he chalked up to yelling too much on the pitch.

"'Mornin,' sugar," Ted muttered, his voice a little ragged.

"Shh, don't sit up. I let Rebecca know you're taking today off. I have some toast and eggs for you if you're hungry. Stay there though, rest."

Ted nods, his dark eyes wide like a doe, watching you leave the room and fix him a plate of food.

He was feeling...itchy. He needs to get up. He should go to work. Just muscle through this cold like he usually does. Moments later, you come back to the room with a tray of food and a cool rag.

"I took, your temperature and you've got a small fever. Take some medicine and we'll see if we can break it, hm?"

The washcloth is cooling on his head, and he takes a sip of cocoa on his scratchy throat, eating a piece of toast...

This is new. Very new.

Someone taking care of him. Loving him. He was raised that, in order to be a man, he has to buck up and pull on the bootstraps. Michelle didn't leave much space for him when he was in need.

But you do.

...

When you're quietly putting laundry away while he naps, you sigh.

How far you and Ted have come. How he still balks at the care you give him. But deep down, he deserves it. You hope he believes you when you say that to him.

Ted's eyes blink open from his slumber.

"Y/N," he says quietly. "Thank you..."

You turn and approach the bed, sitting on the edge and running your fingers through his soft, brown hair.

"Sleep, my love," you whisper. Ted nods, and then asks: "Join me?"

He doesn't ask for cuddles. He's always been big spoon until you. You started wrapping him in your arms and he fell in love with the sensation.

So you scoot in behind him on the bed, roping your arms around him, kissing his warm shoulder, pulling the blanket up over you both, while he drifts softly back to sleep.

...

A week later, Ted has a busy few days at work. Practice is tough with a major match around the corner. He's barely able to sneak out to meet you for coffee.

One day in his office, he hears a knock on the door. A delivery man. From a local eatery.

"Ted...Lasso?" the man says, reading the card.

"Yeah, that's me!" Ted smiles. The delivery man nods, bringing in two trays of sandwiches, boxes of crisps, and some fluffy croissants.

Ted looks at the food placed on his desk.

"That from the boss?" Beard asks. Ted looks for a card and finds it, reading it aloud.

"Darling -- Don't work too hard. Here's some food and goodies to keep you all on your toes. I love you. xoxox - Y/N"

Ted feels tears pricking his eyes. Again, never in his life has someone gone on out of their way to care for him. No lectures about long hours. No guilt trips. Just you, being there when he needs to be here.

"You've got a good one, Ted," Beard says, eating a croissant and patting his friend on the shoulder. Even Roy lets a grin creep at seeing Ted's happiness.

...

That night, Ted scoops you into his arms as soon as he gets home.

"I don't know how I got so damn lucky," he murmurs to your hair, his arms caging you close. "You got outta your way to care for me in ways I didn't know..."

You hush him a little for that.

"It's not out of my way though, Ted. It's just loving you. Loving you is easy," you reply, and his dark eyes sparkle. He kisses you passionately, his tongue tracing your lips, his hands gliding under your shirt. You giggle at how hard he breathes, how needy he sounds.

"Sugarbutt, aren't you tired from a long day?" you ask sweetly, teasihng, and Ted backs you into the bed, laying you down and climbing over you, one hand working open his belt.

"Ain't too tired to show my favorite person how in love I am," he murmurs, smiling, his mustache tickling down your neck while his hand runs up and down your body.

You can't help but moan, no point in trying to chide him anymore.

When his fingers tug your pants down, he smiles knowingly into the kiss, his fingertips between your thighs, feeling the heat you're releasing there.

"Ted...." you moan, your body shivering at his touch and his breath.

"You've been takin' care of me all week, honey," he murmurs, lips kissing gently down your neck and collarbone. "Let me take care of you now..."

His fingers sneak in the leg band of your underwear and he strokes you gently, watching your hips buck.

"Yeah, I'mma make you feel so good," he rumbles to himself, his lips kissing your soft thighs. "You're so good, I'mm make you feel good..."

As his fingers are replaced by his cock, you let him take care of you. The pace is up to him but he does it just how you like. The depth is up to him, but he still knows what you like.

Soon the room is a chorus of moans and sweet things being murmured between the two of you. His arms keep your close, your lips meld together like they're meant to.

He makes you see stars, his hands clutching you as your eyes roll back. He smiles, because this is the least he can do for how good you make him feel.

And that includes how good you make him feel when he moans your name as he follows you over the peak.

It's a competition in care: the way he touches you and cleans you up, the way your hands stroke up and down his back...

You'll never really one-up caring for each other. But you're damn sure gonna keep spoiling Ted Lasso to your heart's content.

---

That was fun. He's so damn cute. Could do a list of headcanons for this probably. He DESERVES so much love and TLC. Awww, Teddy. Thanks for the prompt, friend!

[strayflowersstarsandlove]

Peaches and cream (leefelix)

"Oh come on! You cheated, you must have cheated!", "I did not!", "you threw turtle shells at me at the finish line!". Felix fake cries and whines, shaking the wii controller in his hands as he pouts and purses out his lips and you laugh full chested but also almost feel bad for him. Almost. It's not your fault he sucks at Mario Kart but still is so seriously competitive about it! You can let him win and gaslight him into thinking it was all his own doing for only so much time! You playfully pat his shoulder with fake sympathy and bat your eyelashes at him, "I'm sorry Fefi, you have to accept that you're just not that good", you snicker and he sticks his tongue out at you before taking a sip from his long forgotten iced peaches and cream tea, which he flinches at, squinting his eyes as he makes a disgusted face:"yikes, it turned into room temperature melted whipped cream and sugar, ewl", he comments, sliding the plastic cup away from him, even pushing it on the side with his foot as you guys both sit on the floor, your backs resting against the edge of the couch behind you. You chuckle and offer him some of your water but he refuses politely so you just take a sip and then sigh contently.

Mild spring afternoons were your favourite, spring break was nearing and your free afternoons were either spent quietly studying at Felix's place or going on walks and shopping sprees with him or just laying on his floor just talking and talking, enjoying each other's company. Your friendship was almost a decade long, you were so comfortable and close many thought you two were dating even though it never crossed either of your guys' mind. Or so you thought.

Something subtle and quiet had been bubbling up inside you lately. Maybe it was the way his presence was always so peaceful and warm, his support stable and reassuring throughout your most recent years struggling through college, maybe it was the calmness and positivity he radiated through your hardest, most uncertain times of your early adulthood that had been making you thinking about him differently.

You weren't too sure about your feelings, you just knew you sometimes found yourself staring at the way his platinum blonde hair caught the sunlight, giving him the ethereal look of an angel, and the way his deep brown eyes just always looked so kind and somehow melancholic, the way he would smile and his entire face would lit up. It was the tiny details, really. It's not like you never counted the freckles on his face or stared in awe at the twinkle in his eyes or never melted a little at the sound of his morning baritone voice. You were always well aware of all that, it was just that lately everything had started to seep a little further into your thoughts and you felt some sort of yearning, a languor for him that wasn't there before.

"So, are you excited about your date next week?". Oh yeah. There was the infamous date. You were actually so nervous about it but for all the wrong reasons. You turn to Felix with a frown, shrugging your shoulders, "I wouldn't use the term excited, to be honest", "how come?", he asks, tucking his legs beneath him as he fully turns to you, resting his elbow against the couch, one hand sifting through his hair as he intently listens to you, giving you his full attention, "well… Three reasons. First of all I only agreed to it because he was being so persistent, second of all it's actually Rebecca's idea, this whole thing, she set it up cause he's her boyfriend best friend and I guess she got tired of me complaining about her never introducing me to her other friends so she thought the double date she initially planned would fix it. But I did not enjoy it one bit. She was all over her boyfriend and this guy would not stop talking about himself not even for a second. He barely asked my name and was a bit rude to our server at the restaurant… ", you trail off and Felix nods as a way of gently prodding you on, he frowns at the mention of your friend's friend mannerism and knits his eyebrows together when he sees you're now avoiding his gaze and have stopped talking altogether:" what's the third reason?",he asks and you nervously pull at your fingers, trying to gather the courage to reveal something even your other best friend Rebecca doesn't know, much less Felix, "I never been kissed. I never had my first kiss. Ever".

You should've known Felix really isn't the type of guy who judges and talks down to anyone so it doesn't come as a surprise when he keeps a straight face, he's almost unphased, you could say, if not for the slight single eyebrow raise, "okay? And I guess you don't want this guy to try and make any move on you? You don't want him to be your first kiss, which is understandable", he says calmly and you nod your agreement, "y-yeah. And I know I sound so pretentious and it is my fault I never had my first kiss and I know it's stupid cause really it is just a freaking kiss-", you pause your rambling, smiling bittersweetly at your own worked up self, "but it's just… I know it's meaningless in the grand scheme of things but I don't want to waste something I will only get to experience once for the first time with someone I don't really care about. Who's also really not my type. I should've gotten it over and done years and years ago but I guess I'm a super later bloomer", you chuckle, and again, it's that bittersweet kind of regretful chuckle that escapes your lips.

Felix smiles sweetly at you and shakes his head lightly, "there is no set time for anything, y/n. You are in your twenties and you never been kissed, so what? Plenty of people haven't either. It doesn't matter", he runs his hand through the front of his hair, pushing it back in that usual way that exposes his forehead and you catch a glimpse of his freckles up there, the faded dark roots at the base of his hair line, you blink a few times, trying not to get too mesmerized at how even the simplest, most normal things about him make him look so beautiful,"I like that you said you only get it to really experience it once, cause it is true. Things are only new until you get to try them and you must cherish that. You must make them feel precious to you. Just don't let them also get you stuck in super set ways",you nod at his wise words as he pauses, thinking about how much you like hearing about his perspective on things.

"I had my first kiss when I was 17 and everyone in my class already had it by the time they were 14 and I did not like it, but that's okay", he chuckles at the memory and you tilt your head to the side, smiling at him, "you never told me about it. How was it? Was the girl not nice to you?", you ask, resting your arms on top of your knees as you pull your legs closer to your chest, "oh no, she was nice. She was lovely. I think it happened at prom or something",he pauses again, the look on his eyes a bit dreamy, a bit distant as he reminisces of those times long gone, and he giggles softly and you notice the slight blush on the top of his cheeks as if he's feeling a bit embarrassed at the memory, "I think we were dancing to a slow song or something and I believe she was expecting me to make the first move so I kind of did, not knowing she had just had some of the garlic pizza they had for us from the food catering".

Your eyes go wide in anticipation and your jaw drops which makes Felix giggle even more, "oh my god", you manage, stifling a giggle yourself, "hahaha yeah it was tragic. You know how I sometimes also don't really think before I say things? Well, I told her. I saw she was leaning in again and I stopped her and told her she smelled of garlic and I really couldn't, I really wanted to make her happy and kiss her again but I couldn't and it was so awkward. She kind of understood and didn't go for it again but as soon as the song ended she left with her friends".

As much as it pains you to laugh at him you just cannot contain the full chested giggle that erupts from you but your glad to see him laughing with you, just as much. "Sometimes things just don't go our way", Felix says once you've both calmed down, "stuff like this happens when it's supposed to happen and you just have to kind of go with it. Don't put so much pressure on yourself and the hypothetical person who's going to kiss you first, it'll be okay. I survived, I survived a full on garlic clove", he assures you and you both giggle again.

A comfortable silence settles in for a moment, you rest your cheek on top of your arm and sigh, reflecting on his words: you know damn well he's right through and through, you just wish you could help the blooming nervousness tugging at your insides. Because you know, realistically speaking, that no other guy will be as understanding and caring as Felix is, you've avoided dates and guys in general cause you subconsciously knew they would've made fun of you for being so unexperienced. Either that or they'd taken advantage of you.

"Do you think I should give this guy a chance?", you ask after a little while, lifting your head up and tucking your hair behind your ears, "you could. He might have been just trying to impress you when you went on that double date. If you end up not liking him even a little bit, you walk away, especially if he tries to do something you don't want him to do", he replies, smiling reassuringly at you. Maybe you should just follow his advice. Maybe finally going out with someone else will get rid of that blooming languor you feel for Felix. "You look like there's still a lot troubling your pretty little head", he adds then, studying your face, searching your eyes for something that you can't quite pin point, you laugh nervously and shrug, "I guess I'm just nervous. That's all. I won't force anything to happen between us, if I do end up going on that date, but part of me is still a little scared I guess", "what scares you?", he asks quietly, scooting closer to you, "messing up. Not knowing what do to and making a fool of myself cause I just never dated anyone, cause my ninth grade boyfriend doesn't count", you confess, laughing half heartedly at the silly little memory of what were basically ice cream play dates with that kid from your chemistry class that only lasted a few weeks.

Felix playfully nudges your shoulders and smiles that radiant smile at you, the one that could melt ice on the spot, "you won't mess up. Kisses have no particular technicalities, it'll come natural to you in the moment", he says giggling fondly at you, but when he sees that genuine worry and unease on your face he stops and just looks at you for a moment, kind eyes taking in your features one by one, "I can be your first kiss", he suggests, his voice low and firm but still sweet. Your heart skips more than a beat then, and you try your best not to let it show, "wha-what?, he shrugs and smiles cheekily," I'll kiss you if it means it'll make you feel a little less scared, I can see this is weighting down on your heart quite heavily and I hate seeing you so sad and nervous. I'd rather not take this away from you, not take the surprise element away from it but I'd also rather you experience it with someone you can trust and that cares about you so you can be be done with it than have you living with the highest expectations only to have them destroyed by someone who you're not so keen on".

You have to subtly pinch the skin on your forearm to make sure you're actually awake. You stare at him with eyes so wide you're afraid they're gonna pop off, you swallow down the sheer nervousness in your tone before daring to speak up again, "you-you would do that for me? Where's the catch? ", you try to sound light hearted and cheerful, not at all like your heart literally just stopped functioning for a second, you put on your best smile and he laughs cheerfully as well, "there is no catch. You get to over come your fear and be done with this once and for all and I get to kiss a pretty girl. That's it."

The way he slipped that compliment in there makes your heart rate pick up again but you don't have time to dwell on it because Felix is already leaning in. Oh god. Oh god this is happening. You psyche yourself into firmly convince your heart you're not going to pass out but as soon as you see Felix close his eyes and barely parting his lips you freak out and bend your head down cowardly, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I - sorry", you mumble, feeling your cheeks flushing a deep shade of red as you breathe out loudly, shaking your head in frustration, but he only smiles patiently at you, "that's okay, take your time", he instructs calmly, his voice so warm and low and soft all at once. He waits for you to lift up your head again slightly and squints his eyes at you, and there's that twinkle in them, there's that softness you wish you had the words to describe, "can I touch your face?", he asks quietly, barely brushing your cheek with his fingertips, "I'll just hold you gently, like this", he continues, cupping your chin and then your cheek again, thumb brushing the blush on your skin, "mmmh, y-yeah", you nod briefly, appreciating the way he's trying to make you feel more comfortable while still giving you a little space to breathe and regain your composure, which you do. Finally forcing down the knot in your throat and looking up into his eyes: "you wanna… Uhm.. - you wanna try that again? ", you offer, your heart beating so fast It drowns out the sound of your own breathing.

Pillowy soft. Like impalpable cotton. Felix's lips are on yours in the most delicate kiss. And then they're on top of yours, his top lip gently tapping your bottom one until your tongue meets his. The tip of his nose presses into yours until he angles his chin slightly to the side and his tongue flicks on your palate as he inhales deeply. He tastes faintly like peaches and whipped cream from his tea earlier and he smells like soap and like his expensive cologne, a hint of the brownies you had baked that morning.

You feel his hand still warm on your cheek he caresses it once, his lips full and sweet on yours once more. And then it's all over in what both feels the quickest and the most eternal second ever. You are flabbergastated and breathless from the adrenaline but you barely catch the stupor that flashes so fast in his eyes before they turn to their former melancholic selves as he lets go of you.

"Wasn't so scary now, was it?". Felix shrugs like nothing happened and looks as unphased as ever. He smiles briefly at you but it doesn't seem to reach his eyes. You nod and look down at your hands, the pictures of the moment you and him just shared burning deep in your head.

When you get back home that night you feel like crying for no reason at all.

Part 2, anyone?

[candyrockpop]

Stood Up

CW/TW - None!

Part 3

Summery: You and Howdy go on a date at the park to get to know each other a little more. Silly stories are told and laughter takes over for a bit. A few days later you meet his sister! You spend the day with the siblings and take them to make their first Build-a-Bear! And more romance on the drive home!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

       Getting ready on Thursday made Howdy feel like he was a nervous wreck (he was). He, after spending nearly an hour getting ready, finally chose his outfit for the day: A white long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows with a pastel yellow sweater vest paired with a pair of light blue jeans. His antennae twitched nervously, and he checked himself one more time in the mirror. He double checked his hair and his clothes, and made sure the flowers were right.

       Taking a deep breath, he walked out the front door and locked it behind him.

       When you set up this date, you were excited, but now? You were an anxious mess while waiting at the park for Howdy. You tried taking a few deep breaths, but it didn’t help too much, just as you were getting ready to plug in your headphones and listen to some music to calm down, you saw him walking towards you. That is, until he stopped and stared at you. You were confused and worried he didn’t like your outfit before you saw the blush making itself known on his cheeks. You smiled, nervous and flustered. He looked so handsome; you just couldn’t help but smile as you felt a blush warm your cheeks. You cleared your throat and walked closer to him, “Are you alright, Howdy?” You had to look up at him, but you could see him break from his trance and his blush darken.  

       He chuckled, one of his hands coming up to rub the back of his neck while another presented a beautiful bouquet of red and pink camellias, red and white carnations, dandelions, forget-me-nots, gloxinias, jonquils, and spider flowers. It was a lovely bouquet, even if the flowers seemed a bit random. You brought the flowers up and smiled as you smelled them, “Oh, they're lovely. How did you choose what flowers to use?” You couldn’t deny that you were curious about the seemingly random arrangement.  

       He giggled and all his hands laced together as he began playing with his fingers. Even from his voice you could tell he was a little embarrassed, “I, uh, did some research into the meanings of different flowers...” He trailed off as he ducked his head, which admittedly didn’t work because of his height. You cooed, “Thank you so much. I've never had someone put in so much effort for me...” You looked adoringly at the flowers, softly caressing their petals.  

       Howdy smiled at you. He was so happy you liked the bouquet that he let out a quiet sigh of relief before dusting off his clothes. “So, uh, what's the plan?” he asked with a tilt of his head. You looked up at him through your lashes and he swore that if he had a heart, it would have skipped a beat. You smiled and offered a hand for him to hold, which he happily took, and you started walking down the path, “Well, I was thinking that maybe we could go for a walk and get to know each other? If that’s okay with you...?” You looked hesitant and he hated the look on you. “I love that idea, bug.” His voice was soft and reassuring when he spoke. He started to softly rub the back of your hand with his thumb. You grinned up at him and he smiled back at you.

       You hummed, looking around as you started to wander down a more wooded section of the path. “Have you any funny childhood stories?” You looked up at him curiously. He chuckled, “Who doesn’t?” You laughed and nodded, “Everyone has them, but do you wanna share some of yours?” He could see the hope in your eyes, and he couldn’t just say no!  

       He nodded with a smile, “I don’t see why not! Let's see, what’s a good one...” he trailed off for a minute before perking up, “Oh! I know! Okay, so when I was younger, and I mean a small little puppet, I would get in to all sorts of trouble.” You looked at him surprised and he noticed. He laughed, pulling you away from the edge of the sidewalk as he ducked under a few taller tree branches, “Yeah, I was a hand full, and despite how tall I am now I was a small kid. This meant that I could hide in places others couldn’t get to. Well, one day I decided to hide in the upper cabinet because I didn’t want a haircut.” He couldn’t help but smile and giggle when you laughed.  

       You wiped a tear from your eye and took a breather for a second.  “Really? You hid from going and getting a haircut?” You had to hold back another fit of giggles as he nodded matter-of-factly. “Yep, I liked my hair as it was back then, it was fun to play with. That and my fuzz was off in places because I had a habit of accidentally cutting it with scissors...” he flushed a little and grinned. Both of you let out a nose of surprise as he walked face-first into a tree branch. He looked surprised and stunned. You started laughing, continuing to hold onto his hand even as you nearly buckled in a fit of laughter.  

       He seemed to break out of his stunned silence as he started his own fit of giggles, bending down to hold you up with a pair of his arms and moving the tree branch with his fourth arm. He managed to lead you both to a bench where you both calmed down. Neither of you talked for a few minutes, taking a moment to regain the air lost in your laughing fits.  

       He started his story again, faint chuckles interrupting him a few times, “Eventually though, my mother found me. I ended up scaring the wings off her and missing my appointment! I still had to go a few days later, but it was delayed a little and that was fine in my young mind.” You wheezed and giggled. He smiled and his arms hovered around you to ensure he could catch you if you fell.

       Both of you told silly stories from your youth and had to stop a few times from laughing too hard. Eventually, you circled around back to the entrance of the park. “I had fun today.” he muttered. He still held your hand, even lightly squeezing periodically. You smiled and hugged him, taking a deep breath and squeezing him a little. He tensed up, not expecting the hug, but happily returned the embrace.

       You let go first, sadly, and took a couple steps back. You had a faint blush covering your cheeks as you smiled, “I had fun too. I'll see you around, and maybe we can have a few more? Dates, I mean.” Howdy quickly nodded, his smile could rival the sun and you almost wished you had sunglasses. You said your final goodbye and started your walk home.

       He watched you walk away for a moment before turning to walk to his own home.

       It turned out you didn’t live that far away from Howdy. You both found this out when, a few days later, Howdy was playing with his little sister outside. He had been asked to babysit while his parents went on a date and he happily agreed. You happened to be walking by when you saw the pair outside. He had lifted her up and was spinning with her in a pair of his arms. His other pair of arms was splayed out at his sides, helping him keep his balance. You had stopped to watch and didn’t notice the sweet and absolute love-drunk smile adorning your features.

       You didn’t even seem to stop the thought that he would make a good dad as it came to the front of your mind. Your own thoughts surprised you and you yelped. Howdy obviously looked over and smiled when he saw you, but he was curious why you were blushing so furiously. You looked like a strawberry! He made quick work of getting to you, his sister held in two of his arms as he brought a hand to your cheek. He asked if you were okay and your blush darkened as you squeaked out, “Yes!” He looked at you skeptically, but backed away a little.

       After taking a moment to calm down, you looked at Howdy little sister. She was a small caterpillar similar is color to Howdy, just with a darker green for skin and a beautiful deep navy blue for hair. She looked at you with wonder and you smiled. “Hiya, honey. What’s you’re name?” Your voice was sweet and calm, but she hid in Howdy's arms and looked at you through her lashes. She looked up at Howdy and he nodded with a small smile, “Go ahead, They’re okay.” She nodded, gaining some bravery, and asked to be put down so she could introduce herself. She grinned, holding out a hand to shake, “My name is Heya! You’re very pretty!” You chuckled and took her hand, instead picking her up. You gently booped her nose. “Why thank you. Heya is a very pretty name.” You looked at Howdy as you finished your sentence, your grin teasing, “I see that greetings run in the family for names?” He smiled and nodded. “Mama just likes them, I guess.”  

       You, despite your other possible plans for the day, ended up spending a good portion of the day with the pair. You still got your shopping done, but you also came out with a bunch of snacks for Heya. She just had the cutest little puppy-dog eyes! You couldn’t resist!

       You three had all sorts of fun. You went to the park, of course the grocery store, you even took them to the mall! Yeah, turns out Howdy nor Heya knew what a mall was.

       “Holy moly! This place is big!” Heya proclaimed. Her eyes had stars in them as she looked around in wonder, being careful not to fall out of your arms. You giggled and looked over to see Howdy’s reaction, but he was looking at you. He had a soft smile on his face and you blushed, ducking your head with a flustered smile. “It looks fun, bug.” He was looking at the nearby map now with his own blush. Just then, Heya tried to jump out of your arms and run over to where Howdy was standing. You put her down and she ran over to the map, pointing at one of the labels on it, “Can we go here? Can we, please?” She looked between you and Howdy in eager anticipation.

       You looked at Howdy playfully, “She’s spoiled, isn’t she?” He laughed and nodded, “Very. Yeah, we can go as long it's okay with bug, okay?” He didn’t even get to finish before she was next to you. You made a show of sighing and nodding. “Fine, we can go,” you look over to Howdy, “where does she want to go?” He looked at the map before chuckling, “Build-a-Bear Workshop? What is that?” You looked at him, completely shocked and partially offended. You grabbed one of Howdy’s hands one of Heya’s, leading them with confidence. “We are going and we are all making one.” You spoke with a finality that Howdy couldn't bring himself to argue against, not that he was going to, of course.

       When the three of you walked in, Heya let go of your hand and ran over to the bins to see what plushies they had. You squeezed Howdy’s hand and lead him over there too to search the bins. “Okay, just find an animal you like, okay?” you instructed. He nodded and started looking through the bins. You took a minute to pick your own before looking at their choices. Heya chose a mint axolotl and Howdy chose toothless. You nodded and brought them over to a few stands. “Okay, before we get them stuffed, we need to pick out a scent and a heart for them.” The siblings looked at each other and nodded, looking through the scents after easily choosing a heart. You finished first, knowing what scent you wanted as soon as this place was mentioned.

       After scents and voice messages for hearts were recorded, you walked them over to the stuffing station. “Okay Heya, give the nice lady your axolotl.” you didn’t finish before she had already given it to the worker. Heya watched with wonder as the animal was filled with stuffing. Before the animal was closed, Heya was instructed to give the heart a kiss and the scent and heart were put inside. The plush was given back to her and she hugged it to her chest.  You went next, kissing the heart and putting the scent and heart inside.  

       Howdy’s turn came and he chatted with Heya as his was filled. He kissed his heart and the heart and scent were put inside. You guided them to the “washing” station and showed them how to "clean" their new stuffed animals. You and Heya both picked out some accessories and clothes for your plushies.  

       Howdy bought the plushies even though you said you would. It was sweet, though. He carried his and Heya’s animals and you carried yours. The three of you walked out to Howdy’s car, buckling in and starting the drive home. Not long after the drive started Heya fell asleep holding her axolotl, who she lovingly named Bubbles, to her chest.  

       It was quiet for a little bit, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Howdy started to blush a little, one of his arms reaching over to gently hold your hand. He started to softly rub the back of your palm with his thumb, “Hey, bug?” You hummed, turning your full attention to him. He, of course, kept his eyes on the road as he spoke but his eyes would flick over to you. “Uh, I know we’ve only gone on a couple dates, but um...” he trailed off, his cheeks darkening in color and his ears starting to change color too. You started blushing too, squeezing his hand anxiously. “Ah, I'm sorry. I'm not very good at this,” he chuckled and cleared his throat, “Ahem, would...Would you be mine? My partner?”  

       You could feel your cheeks warm further and a happy laugh build in your throat. “I would love to be yours, Howdy Pillar. If I could hug you I would, but you are driving and that is not a good idea. At all” You knew you had a huge smile of your face, but you also saw the smile on his face. He chuckled too, his eyes flicking over to you again before he pulled into his driveway, “You can give me that hug now!” You practically threw off your seatbelt and threw your arms around him. He laughed and returned the hug. It was a little uncomfortable but neither of you cared.  

I hope you all enjoyed! I made this one longer since i realized i got distracted for two weeks. Sorry about that, by the way. This is 2,521 words! This is also for the Anon that requested i do part 3. I’m terribly sorry I’ve been so distracted, but my cat is pregnant and is due any day now. I’ve just been preparing and i got a little side tracked. I’ve also been cleaning out the family storage room with my brother and cousin and it tends to leave me tired. Oh! Before i forget, my requests are open! 

Its fun to see what you all want or to see your amazing ideas! Have a good 24 hours!

[unagrancantidaddepanes]

ok i wasnt gonna do it i told myself no im just not gonna say anything on this drama but this is so MINDBOGGLING that i HAVE to make a post about this

i am gonna start by saying as someone on the arospectrum i personally see peridot as either fully aroace or arospec (i like headcanoning either one) and as in a qpr or plantonic friendship with lapis.

peridot has been confirmed to be intended to be read as aroace by a storyboard artist (maya peterson) that would focus on her character, i am not denying that,

however

she is also confirmed to be intended to be read as experiencing romantic attraction, by the OTHER storyboard artist who originally worked on peridot, jesse zuke, who has just as much authority to talk about peridots character, if not more since (to my knowledge) she was the original main storyboard artist for peridot

the intention behind what peridot is suppose to represent is fundamentally contradictory, there is absolutely no use fighting over it. this is so dumb to fight over YES both sides have been confirmed canon THATS WHY THIS IS DUMB </33

ive been trying to find as many actual sources as i can (which has been pretty difficult since A LOT has been deleted) but I finally found a transcript of one of jesse zukes posts that is deleted that everyone keeps referencing

from this reddit post https://www.reddit.com/r/stevenuniverse/comments/5q738i/lauren_zuke_speaks_of_her_intention/

(jesse was formerly known as lauren)

anyone posts something shipping peridot, u get a load of comments saying "this is aroace erasure, shes written as aroace, a storyboard artist said so", anyone posts something about peridot being canonically aroace, u get a load of comments saying "shes not canonically aroace, she was written as experiencing romantic attraction, a storyboard artist said so" everyone is either one or the other it seems like NO ONE is acknowledging that both is true and really this confusion is the fault of the crewniverse ????

these storyboard artists BOTH focused heavily on working on peridot and creating her character, and their intentions behind what she is are completely contradicting.

i would love for peridot to be aroace. to me she IS aroace, but im not going to pretend like this isnt the most confusing most unclear way of confirming that. even if maya peterson intended for her to be seen as aroace, jesse zuke wrote her as the complete opposite and it would be stupid of me to ignore that. harassing eachother over this is stupid. your both correct, now shake hands and make peace with eachother lol, good night.

As an arospec person I am completely fine with people shipping peridot and I do not think it is aroace erasure, because while I would love to see an orientation like mine depicted in a character like peridot, im not going to ignore that fact the she was ALSO originally meant to be read as experiencing romantic attraction AND the fact that many of the crewniverse ships peridot with people or supports others doing it. it is not aroace erasure to ship a character that was literally intended to be read as experiencing romantic attraction by some of the people who worked on her character. rebecca god damn sugar, the creator of steven universe has made fanart shipping peridot. peridots voice actor has said she likes and supports people shipping peridot. its just that different people working on the show had wildly different intentions when creating her character, and didnt clear up a solid identity for her with everyone working on her

jesse zuke said in her post "cant speak for anyone else! many people are writing those episodes". just like if maya peterson and anyone else working on peridot intended for her to be read as aroace, other people working on her character with just as much authority were writing her completely differently. people are not seeming to acknowledge that these two things co-exist. it is not one or the other. even though they are complete opposites, somehow theyve made it so that its both at once.

she was simultaneously written to be both aroace and experiencing romantic attraction by different people writing her character, clearly because of miscommunication within the crewniverse.

heres rebecca sugars ship art btw since the first 2 were really hard to find, in case anyone else wanted some sort of actual evidence of it

also just wanted to bring attention to jesse zuke saying "anyone who wants to see the narrative they want is completely, 100% allowed to". peridot and her episodes were written to have multiple interpretations. this was written with multiple intentions. some of those intentions were aroace, some of them, like jesse zukes, were not. you are all correct peace and love

update i found a slightly longer version of jesse zukes post in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=oIl1sEQ4_iI

"I wanted to close the book on this - I am queer, and intend fully to write queer characters when I do"

this is pretty clear confirmation that peridot was fully written with completely different ideas in mind from completely different people. jesse zuke INTENDED for peridot and lapis to be read as having a queer relationship, in this post shes encouraging people to read it that way, meanwhile other writers had other intentions which are just as real and valid.

inconsistency and messy production in steven universe is not a new thing